continually rising levels of service and more choice and will be
dissatisfied if standards are only maintained at a level which
they once found acceptable. Customers are changing the way in
which they purchase, especially through the internet, which
gives them more choice and enables them to compare product
prices and attributes. It should also be noted that other organiza-
tions improve the services they offer and competitive edge will
be lost if these are not matched or preferably exceeded.
Simply to seek satisfaction is not enough. It is necessary to go
beyond satisfaction by exceeding expectations in anticipation of
what customers will want in the future and what competitors
will be doing.
DELIGHTING CUSTOMERS
To delight customers it is necessary to create a culture which
focuses on customer satisfaction and to ensure that anyone in
contact with them behaves in a way which will create continuing
satisfaction.
Ten steps to creating a customer-focused culture
- Articulate the core values for service excellence that will be
adopted by the organization. - Communicate those values to all staff.
- Live the values at top management level – how they lead is
how others serve. - Implement programmes of continuous improvement which
provide for incremental but significant enhancements to
service levels. - Implement quality management programmes which
provide for the achievement of high levels of product and
service quality. - Focus on internal as well as external customers.
- Define the behaviours expected of all those dealing with
customers (see below for a list of appropriate behaviours). - Select people with the right attitudes, train them in the
customer service skills they need and empower them to
provide them with greater autonomy in relating to
customers.
68 How to be an Even Better Manager